A
TERRITORIAL DISPUTE, in simple terms, is a disagreement about “who owns a
territory.” Yet, a TERRITORIAL DISPUTE is not that simple. In international
relations, this means in principle there is a disagreement between at least two
parties in relation to whom the sovereign is over a piece of land. The Israel-Palestine
difference includes Israel, Palestine, the region and, to an extent,
many other people around the world. The previous posts introduced a brief
historical chronology, mentioned some key domestic and international reasons
behind this case, and included references to other regional and international agents
that have played (and in some cases, still do) a central role.
With
the previous cases covered by this series (Kashmir, the Falkland/Malvinas
islands, and Gibraltar) we explored an ideal solution called EGALITARIAN SHARED
SOVEREIGNTY in what has to do with population, territory, government and law. The Israel-Palestine
difference did not follow that approach. Why? Because before going into any
negotiations we must determine who may be a legitimate party. That is the issue
that maintains the Israel-Palestine difference in a status quo. The claiming parties do not recognise reciprocally
complete legitimacy to go into any negotiations about the disputed territories.
Therein, the last posts introduced the concept of “colourable claim” and
explored three different grounds: historical entitlement, legal basis and moral
standing. For one reason or another, both Israelis and Palestinians have
grounds to introduce a claim (this is different from saying they have the right
to be sovereign over these territories). It only means both Israelis and
Palestinians ought to be part of any negotiation concerning the sovereignty (de jure and de facto) over the disputes territories.
The
reader may ask why Israelis and Palestinian representatives do not agree on a
common ground to start negotiations and settle peacefully and permanently the Israel-Palestine
difference. To give an answer I quote Huth once again below. The
quotation clearly illustrates that international and regional issues at stake
are many times dependent on domestic agendas (and viceversa). In a nutshell, the difference still exists because there is no real will to solve it.
Huth
explains the dynamics:
“[…]
very often political leaders are not willing to take risks and undertake
diplomatic initiatives that will break a long-standing stalemate in
negotiations. Furthermore, leaders themselves are socialized into viewing the
target as an adversary and, as a result, they are not predisposed to view
concessions as a legitimate option. Furthermore, […] a history of military
conflict with the target can be used by the military to justify larger budgets
[…]. The combined effect, then, is that the idea of offering concessions and
proposing a unilateral initiative to break the stalemate is a policy option
quite difficult to get on the policy agenda of political leaders within the
challenger. Few voices are advocating such policies within the challenger, and
the prevailing climate of opinion (both mass and elite) is opposed to such a
change in policy.”
“[…] leaders were typically constrained by
domestic political forces to be very cautious in moving toward a compromise
settlement, since popular and elite opinion, and often the military, was
opposed to such a policy. [...] In most situations the leader’s position of
domestic power and authority was better served by continuing confrontation […]”
Huth, Paul K. 2001. Standing Your
Ground. Territorial Disputes and International Conflict. The University of
Michigan Press.
There is another option: to
think about how to solve this dispute. This series TERRITORIAL DISPUTES intends
to offer a platform for discussion.
With all this in mind, I
introduced the overall idea I call EGALITARIAN SHARED SOVEREIGNTY. I develop
this approach in full in Núñez, Jorge Emilio. 2017. “Sovereignty
Conflicts and International Law and Politics: A Distributive Justice Issue.”
London and New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group. Briefly, all parties
share sovereignty in equal ideal terms. To get to that, these parties go into
negotiations themselves (not UN or any other party alien to the conflict). If
it is of interest to the reader, we can explore the Israel-Palestine difference through the lens
of the EGALITARIAN SHARED SOVEREIGNTY and see how cooperation between Israel
and Palestine can result in a peaceful and permanent settlement materialised by
joint institutions. This series is always open to comments and suggestions.
Next post will introduce
another TERRITORIAL DISPUTE. In the meantime, links to some informative sites and
the previous posts below.
For an interactive map of
TERRITORIAL DISPUTES see
For current information
about TERRITORIAL DISPUTES see CIA’s The World Factbook at:
Previous posts of the
TERRITORIAL DISPUTE series (only about the Israel-Palestine difference below):
Twitter: @London1701
04th
May 2018
Jorge I think you ended up ducking the issue. After a long buildup you didn't actually give an example of what an EGALITARIAN SHARED SOVEREIGNTY model would look like. This is a good example since it is far and away the best documented of these tribal conflicts. I like the idea of getting the UN out, since I think their role has been mainly destructive and harmful.
ReplyDeleteAnyway this conflict isn't your primary focus which is fine but I thought you were going somewhere specific with the essays.
Hi Jeff,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this. A very fair comment. I do this having the reader in mind. With 1000s of monthly views on he blog, you're the first person who's asking for a solution.
I'm happy to take the challenge. I was going to start this week with a new case study (Crimea).
Instead, I've decided to take your comment and carry on with the Israel-Palestine difference. I'll apply the Egalitarian Shared Sovereignty to this case to show what I mean and only then I'll focus on another case.
I'll post the next part later today.
THANKS!